The permanent and annual crops of Cuba cover some 3.7 million
hectares. The principal permanent and annual crops, according to the survey of
December 31 1997 are shown in Table 3.

Table 3Principal crops in Cuba at the end of 1997 ('000 ha)

Permanent crops

Annual crops

Sugar cane

1 770

Rice

224

Coffee

141

Tobacco

67

Banana

123

Grass

10

Citrus

93

Others

794

Fruits

84

Grass and forage crops

366

Others

29

Total

2 606

Total

1 095

Source: Statistical Annual of Cuba, 2001 edition.

Sugar cane dominates agriculture in Cuba, accounting for
approximately half of the cultivated area.

In contrast with other countries of the region, the use of
fertilizers in Cuba, from the beginning of the eighties in the last century,
took account of soil characteristics, particularly the soil nutrient content,
the expected yields and other factors involved in the efficient utilization of
the products.

For all crops, there are well established fertilizer
application standards based on many field experimental results obtained under
different conditions (Table 4), although the current financial limitations
prevent, in many cases, their implementation.

Sugar cane

Sugar cane has historically consumed most of the fertilizers
because of its area and the priority given to the crop. It is the principal
export crop and is important for the economy of the country.

There is a sophisticated, integrated advisory system for
fertilizer recommendations on sugar cane, which includes soil analysis,
demonstration plots, advice, annual training courses, recommended rates and
other actions associated with efficient fertilizer use. Each producer has a
service contract with the Agro Industrial Complex (CAI), representing all the
associated producers and INICA, the institution in charge of this activity. At
the start of every year the producer pays 3.35 pesos per hectare for this
service. Tables 5 and 6 show the percentage of the area fertilized and the
application rates with their corresonding yields.

The cultivated arable area in Cuba is about 1.4 millions
hectares, with about a million ha harvested every year. Limitations imposed by
the crisis faced by the country have had a negative impact on yields. Among the
causes of the reduced yields are the aging of plantations, inadequate attention
to the crop, shortage of fuel, shortage of herbicides, reduction of water and
other limitations. This is in a global environment in which sugar prices
scarcely cover production costs. The imports of fertilizers for sugar cane are
shown in Table 8.

Table 7Area under sugar cane ('000 ha)

Year

Total area

Cropped area

Percent irrigated

1996

1 515

1 245

15.1%

1997

1 459

1 246

14.6%

1998

1 386

1 049

13.9%

1999

1 384

996

13.8%

2000

1 378

1 041

13.8%

Source: Statistical Annual of Cuba, 2001 edition.

Table 8Imports of fertilizers for use on sugar cane ('000 tonnes)

Product

Average 1996-1998

1999

2000

Urea

92

87

70

Ammonium nitrate

43

-

8

Anhydrous ammonia

9

17

16

Triple superphosphate

34

16

24

Potassium chloride

80

38

38

Total

245

158

156

Figure 3
Sugar cane production, 1990 to 2002

Source: FAOSTAT.

Tables 9 and 10 present data on nutrients applied and the
areas fertilized. Fertilizer is not applied to the entire area since nitrogen is
not necessary for newly planted crops. Also nitrogen is not applied on the
fields with yields below 25 t/ha, where other factors are limiting
production.

Table 9Proportions of the sugar cane area fertilized

Year

N

P2O5

K2O

1997

43%

15%

26%

1998

65%

43%

53%

1999

56%

52%

37%

2000

64%

60%

45%

2001

65%

60%

44%

Source: SERFE, Minaz.

Table 10Average rates of nutrient application on sugar cane (kg/ha)

Year

N

P2O5

K2O

1997

66

38

88

1998

66

37

100

1999

63

40

97

2000

63

41

87

2001

63

50

87

Source: SERFE, Minaz.

Phosphorus and potassium are applied where the soil levels are
below the critical levels according to soil analyses.

The sugar cane farmers buy fertilizers from a specialized
agency of the Sugar Ministry (MINAZ). They pay at the moment of acquisition a
nationally fixed price that includes transportation costs. The prices are 420,
355, 302, 322 and 217 Cuban pesos for ammonia, urea, ammonium nitrate, triple
super-phosphate and potassium chloride, respectively.

Farmers are obliged to have their plantations checked by the
Fertilizers and Amendments Recommendations Service (SERFE), in order to purchase
fertilizers.

Tables 11, 12 and 13 show data on nutrient consumption on
sugar cane in the different regions of the country.

Crops other than sugar
cane

This group includes vegetables and cereals, on which
fertilizer use has decreased drastically. The only exception is the potato crop.
In the 1986 to 1990 period, the crops in this group consumed a total of 856 416
tonnes of complex (NPK) fertilizers, with a maximum of 180 000 tonnes in 1989,
but in 1995 the quantity had fallen to 50 843 tonnes and 35 000 tonnes in year
2000. The main grades of complex fertilizers are 9-13-17, 9-10.5-16 and 8-6-15.
The areas and percentage fertilized are shown in Table 14.

This situation has made it necessary to optimize the use of
fertilizers by concentrating their application on specific areas, adding
zeolites to a fifth of the formulations, increasing the use of organic and
organo-mineral products and biofertilizers, among other measures.

Fertilizer use on these crops showed average rates of
application in 2000/2001 of 9, 11 and 13 kg/ha of N, P2O5,
K2O and respectively. This level is far from the established
recommendations. The low rates are limiting the yields and progressively
exhausting the soil fertility.

Bananas

Bananas constitute an important item for the food security of
Cuban people, particularly in the eastern regions of the country, where potato
production is limited by conditions not suited to the crop.

For comparison, in 1986 there was no consumption of urea but
35 542 tonnes of compound fertilizers and 31 946 tonnes of potassium chloride
were applied to the crop.

Despite limited fertilization, the production level of the banana crop has
been maintained or even increased (Table 15). This is remarkable in view of
the fact that irrigation was also affected by lack of fuel. This is the result
of:

introduction of new management technologies

improved clone structure

better quality seed obtained by tissue culture

substitution of mineral fertilizers by organic materials

improved incomes and higher prices for the producer

Another factor that contributed to the maintenance of yields
was the presence of nutrient reserves (P and K) in the soil. In the past
nutrients had sometimes been applied in quantities that exceeded soil needs.
However the national specialists consider that it will not be possible to
maintain current production levels if the nutrients needed by the crop are not
applied. This observation is supported by the fact that in areas with drip
irrigation the yield in year 2000 was only 23 t/ha compared with 37 t/ha in
1992. This reduction is attributed in large measure to the nutrient
limitations.

Potato

The state gives priority to the production of potatoes in view
of the importance of the crop to food security. The entire potato area is
fertilized. During the five-year period 1997 to 2001 the rates of application of
nutrients per ha were stable, averaging 237 kg/ha N, 184 kg/ha
P2O5 and 230 kg/ha K2O.

Table 16 gives the figures of the nutrients applied to this
crop. The important areas are concentrated in Havana, Matanzas and Ciego de
Avila. There is little irrigation and the yield levels are acceptable for
tropical conditions such as those of Cuba.

Table 16Potato: sown area, yield and fertilizer use

Year

Sown area

Yield

N

P2O5

K2O

('000 ha)

(t/ha)

('000 tonnes nutrients)

1997

17.2

19.2

3.7

3.0

3.8

1998

12.2

17.0

3.1

2.3

2.9

1999

14.0

24.7

3.3

2.5

3.2

2000

13.5

27.3

3.3

2.6

3.3

2001

13.5

27.3

3.2

2.4

3.0

Typically some 1 400 to 1 500 kg per ha of complex granulated
fertilizers (NPK) are applied, plus a second application of 223 kg per ha of
urea. The usual complex fertilizer grades are 9-13-17 and 8-9-14.

Rice

This cereal constitutes the basis of the Cuban diet. The
national production does not satisfy domestic demand and there is a high level
of imports.

During the period 1994 to 1999, the nutrient application per
hectare averaged 234 kg, which is sufficient for a yield of over four t/ha of
grain (Table 17). However, the yield was well below this level, which indicates
that there were other factors limiting production, such as lack of irrigation,
poor weed control, incorrect sowing stage, salinity, shallow soils,
etc.

Table 17Rice: sown area and fertilizer use

Year

Sown area

N

P2O5

K2O

Yield

('000 ha)

(kg/ha)

1995

70.0

129

51

23

1 727

1996

114.6

148

52

39

2 749

1997

116.0

146

56

30

3 156

1998

84.4

152

58

38

2 426

1999

86.7

155

46

44

2 911

Average

94.3

146

53

35

2 594

Note: these figures exclude farmers' home consumption, production by
MINAZ and production in domestic gardens.
Source: Department of Soil and Fertilizers, MINAG.

Tables 18 and 19 show the areas, rates of nutrient applied and
yields obtained in nine rice zones. Fertilizer efficiency in terms of the ratio
of kg grain/kg active nutrient was in all cases inferior to 15, which is
considered to be low.

Table 18Rice: areas in the main locations ('000 ha)

Location

County

Sown area

Los Palacios

Pinar del Río

19.0

Seeds

Habana

0.8

Arrocera del Sur

Matanzas

3.3

Sur del Jíbaro

S. Spíritus

20.5

Chambas

Ciego Avila

1.5

Hermanos Nayo

LasTunas

13.2

CAI Amancio

Holguín

4.6

Fernando Echenique

Granma

19.6

Total listed

82.5

Total country

86.7

Table 19Rice: rates of fertilizer application and yields (kg/ha)

Location

N

P2O5

K2O

Yields

Los Palacios

141

46

59

2 773

Seeds

175

55

64

3 582

Arrocera del Sur

161

69

70

2 389

Sur del Jíbaro

165

29

37

3 585

Chambas

137

65

54

2 742

Hermanos Nayo

130

44

49

1 872

CAI Amancio

137

51

20

2 842

Fernando Echenique

166

39

33

2 863

Total listed

155

46

44

2 911

Note: excludes farmers' own consumption, MINAZ's production and home
gardens.
Source: Department of Soils and Fertilizers, MINAG.

Tobacco

Tobacco has been a crop associated with Cuba, ranking second
in importance in the island's agriculture and an important source of income.
Cuba has occupied an important place as an exporter not in terms of volume but
for the quality of the tobacco produced. Table 20 chows the area occupied by
tobacco, the fertilizer application and related yields.

Table 20Tobacco: area, fertilizer application and yields.

Season

Sown area

Fertilizer application (kg nutrient/ha)

Yield

('000 ha)

N

P2O5

K2O

(kg/ha)

1997-98

54.3

104

55

136

698

1998-99

54.1

116

61

150

696

1999-00

52.7

116

62

153

760

2000-01

48.5

116

63

154

781

2001-02

42.9

117

63

156

846

Note: the season refers to the period between planting in the nursery
and harvesting

Citrus

Citrus is a major commercial crop and generates significant
revenues for Cuba. On average between 1999 and 2002, there were 58 249 ha of
citrus fruits, with a production of 614 thousand tonnes, that is, 10.5 t/ha
(Table 21).

In the first half of the 1990s citrus production fell by about
55 percent (Figure 4).

Table 21Citrus: main fertilizers and amendments used (tonnes)

Fertilizer

1999

2000

2001

Ammonium nitrate

9 705

9 629

8 436

Triple superphosphate

729

225

409

Potassium chloride

1 188

1 959

827

Potassium nitrate

302

300

99

Potassium sulphate

95

94

0

Zinc sulfate

80

103

87

Manganese sulphate

33

29

58

Grumifol

32

32

26

Lime

15 453

18 311

4 434

Magnesium sulphate

84

78

0

Complex (NPK)

172

160

11

Urea

704

329

368

Total

28 577

31 249

14 755

Figure 4
Citrus fruit production

Source: FAOSTAT.

Vegetables

The main vegetables produced in Cuba are onions, peppers and
tomatoes. Tables 22 to 24 show the areas sown, fertilizer applications and
related yields.

Onions

Table 22Onions: area, rates of fertilizer application and yield

Year

Total area

N

P2O5

K2O

Yield

(ha)

(kg/ha)

(t/ha)

1999

2 638

106

33

54

12.3

2000

3 181

106

33

54

13.92

Peppers

Table 23Peppers: area, rates of fertilizer application and yield

Year

Total area

N

P2O5

K2O

Yield

(ha)

(kg/ha)

(t/ha)

1999

1 747

142

67

11.60

2000

2 135

142

67

13.14

Tomato

Table 24Tomato: area, rates of fertilizer application and yield

Year

Total area

N

P2O5

K2O

Yield

(ha)

(kg/ha)

(t/ha)

1999

26 819

123

50

80

10.6

2000

25 631

123

50

80

13.2

2001

27 041

123

50

80

16.6

Urban and peri-urban areas, various
crops

The success of Cuba's national transformation to sustainable
agriculture is also evident in the achievements that have taken place in
promoting and establishing urban agriculture in Havana. Enhancing food security
in Havana and other Cuban cities became a particular focus with an emphasis on
developing urban agriculture (Table 25).